


A Very Merry Christmas to You

by Antosha



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Book 1: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Christmas, Crack Treated Seriously, Dumbledore should have told Harry, Epistolary, F/M, Gay Albus Dumbledore, Gen, Horcruxes, Implied Slash, Invisibility Cloak (Harry Potter), Letters, Lily Evans Potter & Severus Snape Friendship, M/M, Matchmaker Albus Dumbledore, Meta, Metafiction, Minor Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Narrative logic, Postscripts, Reductio ad absurdam, The Deathly Hallows
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-12
Updated: 2020-06-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:47:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24674842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Antosha/pseuds/Antosha
Summary: Your father left this in my possession before he died. It is time it was returned to you. Use it well. A very Merry Christmas to you.—PS/SS, "The Mirror of Erised"
Relationships: Albus Dumbledore/Gellert Grindelwald
Comments: 8
Kudos: 24





	A Very Merry Christmas to You

**Author's Note:**

> Another bit of pseudo-meta-turned-ficlet....
> 
> So after DH came out, there was [an interesting state-of-the-ship conversation over at flamingnargle](http://community.livejournal.com/flamingnargle/88119.html) and and a rather interesting discussion broke out concerning whether or not the last two books should be accepted—in their entirety—as canon, or as simply the author's own fic. (I'm simplifying the poster's point hugely—it's more well stated than I'm managing.)
> 
> In any case, I responded, my response including a discussion about the charge so often leveled at Dumbledore: "He should have told Harry everything up front!"
> 
> I pointed out that there were two problems with this: first, could you imagine telling a young boy that you're not sure, but that in order for the Big Bad to be defeated, he may have to serve himself up as an appetizer?
> 
> The second was more a discussion of narrative logic... and turned into this ficlet. ;-)

_Harry—  
  
Your father left this Invisibility Cloak in my possession before he died. It is time it was returned to you. Use it well.  
  
It is one of three powerful objects known as the Deathly Hallows (look in a copy of Beadle the Bard's tales for a story called "The Tale of the Three Brothers" for more background). I happen to have gained one of the other items, known as the Elder Wand, a wand that cannot be defeated in direct battle... when I defeated the previous owner—my childhood friend, one-time confederate in plots to take over the world and erstwhile ~~lover boyfriend~~ Main Squeeze, the Dark Lord Gellert Grindelwald—in direct battle. I still haven't quite worked out how that happened. I'll let you know once I do.  
  
In any case, I will try to pass it along to you soon—as soon as we can find the third item, known as the Resurrection Stone, which allows the wearer to call up the spirits of the dead (and if we find it, goodness, I am wracked with guilt over the death of my younger sister Ariana over a hundred years ago, and so, if you don't mind, I'd really love to speak with her and find out whether or not I was directly responsible for her death).  
  
Once you have those three items—and once we have destroyed some further objects called Horcruxes whose existence I have guessed at but as of yet found no proof of—you will be able to track down and vanquish Voldemort. There was a prophecy, you see, given to me by our Divination professor, that made it plain that you (or possibly Neville Longbottom, but most likely you) and Voldemort (who is really named Tom Riddle and who came to Hogwarts fifty years ago as a half-blood orphan much like yourself—though rather more worrisomely sociopathic) would face one another, and one or both would die.  
  
I hope it isn't you, but I'm afraid that you'll just have to be prepared to die in order to destroy the piece of Voldemort that I believe may reside within your scar, as Voldemort cannot die until that piece is removed. Sorry about that! At this point, there's nothing that will allow you to survive such an engagement, but hopefully, we'll think of something, what?  
  
A very Merry Christmas to you, and enjoy the rest of your first year.  
  
Yours sincerely,  
  
Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore  
  
  
PS I am aware that you and Professor Snape loathe each other deeply. However, I would greatly appreciate it if you would treat him with compassion and pity. Your mother was his one childhood friend, you see, even though she was a Muggle-born, and as they grew up he grew to love her deeply. Alas, he fell in with Bad Friends, called her by the M Word (do you know the M Word? Perhaps you should ask Mr. Malfoy. He could explain.) and they left Hogwarts estranged. He discovered part of the prophecy that I told you of above and relayed it to Lord Voldemort, thus directly causing your mother's death (and your father's, to whom he owed a Life Debt). Poor Severus, he has been wracked with guilt ever since he realized that Voldemort might use the prophecy to kill your mother (he wasn't terribly concerned at the time about you or your father) and spied for us throughout the past years. Doesn't that make you feel for him?  
  
In any case, please don't alienate him. Should Voldemort truly return, as I am certain that he will, he will once again prove an invaluable spy, and I rather have him under my thumb.  
  
Oh, and please don't let him know that I have informed you of this. Not only would he be quite upset that you knew his secret, but it would make him blush, which I think you would agree is a sight not to be sought out. APWBD  
  
PPS That prophecy I mentioned? It says that you have a power that the Dark Lord knows not; well, it's love. It may be love-as-caritas or love-as-agapé, but love-as-eros will probably serve—I wouldn't know, as I've never kissed a girl, aside from that time under the mistletoe with Madam Pomfrey. There was a boy... In any case, a good case of hieros gamos would seem to be an advised step on your path.  
  
I know you're only eleven and you're an orphan and everything, but you'd better find yourself a surrogate family to love and, while you're at it, a girl/boyfriend to keep you going through all your struggles to save the world. By the way, remind me to explain where babies come from next time I see you. APWBD  
  
  
PPPS Did you know that your good friend Ronald Weasley's sister's given name is Ginevra? I believe that you saw her at King's Cross. Isn't she a lovely creature? Isn't that a lovely name? It is Italian for Guinevere, as you may know. I'm sure that that is significant in some way. APWBD  
  
PPPS If you can find a copy, do read The Hero with a Thousand Faces, a wonderful book by a muggle named Joseph Campbell. I think that you will find it very useful in the coming years. APWBD  
  
PPPPS I have never told anyone this, and I am not at all certain why I am telling you now, but I feel compelled to do so: as you may have gathered from what I said above, I'm gay. A poufter. A pansy. Really. As a young man I had this huge crush on my good friend Gellert—this was back before the whole Dark Lord thing. Oh, Harry, let me tell you, the color of his eyes... But I digress. Ah, young love... But you are, I must again remind myself, only eleven. You will understand all of this soon enough. In the mean time, I hope that you have found this note informative. APWBD  
  
PPPPS Just one more thing. Well, two. First, use the cloak to go looking for a mirror in one of the classrooms. It won't really show you anything real; it only shows you your deepest desires. Quite a cheat, actually. But I plan on using it to hide my good friend—soon my late friend—Nicholas Flamel's Philosopher's Stone. (I understand that in the United States they sometimes call it a Sorcerer's Stone for no reason that I can ascertain.) In any case, that brings up my second point. That three-headed dog on the third-floor corridor? Try music. And then flame. And then some clever chess play. And then flying. And then... Well, I'm sure that Miss Granger can help you then. APWBD_

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I know I would have enjoyed the whole series a lot more!
> 
> 🙄


End file.
